Department for Transport

Humber Bridge: Tolls

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to remove tolls from the Humber Bridge.

Jesse Norman: The Government has no plans to remove tolls from the Humber Bridge. The setting of tolls on the Humber Bridge is a matter for the Humber Bridge Board and its constituent local authorities.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to his Department for financial year 2018-19 for planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how much of that funding has been spent.

Richard Harrington: In the financial year 2018/19 BEIS was allocated £185.1m of EU Exit funding. Of this total allocation, £106.7m has been budgeted for programme and capital spend. £78.4m has been budgeted as administration spend, of which £57.3m has been budgeted for staff within BEIS. BEIS is keeping this under review over the course of the financial year. No Deal funding is aggregated as part of the Department’s overall spend and therefore cannot be reported separately.

Climate Change: Greater London

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the accuracy of the statement by the Mayor of London that there is a climate emergency.

Claire Perry: Climate change is one of the most urgent and pressing challenges we face today. The UK is a world leader in cutting emissions while growing the economy. We recognise the need to go further, which is why we have set out ambitious plans to reduce emissions through the 2020s and commissioned the Committee on Climate Change to provide advice on the implications of the Paris Agreement for the UK’s long-term emissions reduction targets, including on setting a net zero target.

Whirlpool Corporation: Tumble Dryers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate the Office for Product Safety and Standards has made of the number of modifications that Whirlpool has made to the dryers referenced in its November 2015 safety announcement to date.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Office for Product Safety and Standards is undertaking a review of the actions taken by Whirlpool in relation to its modification programme and we will report to the House in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Staff

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.

Richard Harrington: At the end of November 2018 there were 3,955 people working in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (full time equivalent), figures are not reported at the mid-month point. At the end of June 2016 this figure was 3,702, however the Machinery of Government change process was not fully concluded until March 2017. Figures include staff on payroll and contingent workers but excludes staff not on payroll, fast streamers or any staff not paid for by BEIS.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish its proposals on recompensing small scale renewables exporting to the grid.

Claire Perry: We published a call for evidence on the future of small-scale low-carbon generation in the summer and we intend to follow this up with a consultation on proposals for future arrangements shortly.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Infrastructure

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many infrastructure contracts overseen by his Department have been let with the stipulation that a Project Bank Account must be applied in the last year.

Richard Harrington: Central BEIS have not let any infrastructure contracts over the past year. We do not hold this information for BEIS Arms Lengths Bodies therefore this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many civil servants in his Department are currently working on planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how many have been moved from other projects to work on those plans.

Richard Harrington: BEIS has c.950 staff working exclusively across all elements related to delivering the UK’s exit from the EU, including no deal planning. That number includes staff recently moved from other projects and those recruited. Further moves will follow as the remaining elements of the Department’s plans are enacted with numbers subject to that planning.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2018 to Question 202300 on Global Navigation Satellite Systems: Costs, when the engineering, design, and development phase is expected to report.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 07 January 2019



The EDDP phase of the programme is expected to complete within the first half of 2020.

Supermarkets: Restrictive Practices

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to previous cases brought by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) against retailers under Chapter 1, Section 2, Subsection 2 of the Competition Act 1998, what discussions he has had with the OFT on the treatment of joint working between supermarkets to enable food security in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Office of Fair Trading was abolished in 2014 with its former functions being transferred to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s independent competition authority. The Government has regular discussions with the CMA to prepare for the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Energy: Prices

Sir David Amess: What steps he is taking to support people with the cost of household energy bills.

Claire Perry: Last week this Government delivered on its promise to cap energy prices. It now protects over 11 million households, ensuring the energy market works for all customers and saving consumers up to around £130 a year. We continue to invest at least £640m in energy efficiency annually until 2028 and are also delivering on our smart meter programme.

Small Businesses: Billing

Marion Fellows: What steps he is taking to ensure full and timely payments to small businesses.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Small Business Commissioner has recovered £2 million for small businesses in his first year. We have recently taken steps to strengthen the Prompt Payment Code, and we are working through nearly 300 responses to our recent call for evidence on creating a more responsible payment culture.

Small Businesses: Government Assistance

Will Quince: What recent steps he has taken to support small businesses.

Kelly Tolhurst: Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are making the UK one of the best places in the world for businesses to start up and grow. The Government-owned British Business Bank is supporting nearly 78,000 small businesses with over £5.5 billion of finance; and we’ve extended funding for the Start Up Loans Company until 2021, supporting 10,000 more entrepreneurs. We’re also providing £56m of funding to boost business productivity, including £11m to create a Small Business Leadership Programme.

Fuel Poverty

Karen Lee: What steps he is taking to tackle fuel poverty.

Claire Perry: This Government made a clear Manifesto commitment to tackle fuel poverty by committing to upgrading all fuel poor homes to EPC Band C by 2030. We are making progress in particular by tackling the most energy inefficient homes. Since 2010 there are almost 800,000 fewer fuel poor households living in homes rated E, F or G. The average fuel poverty gap has also dropped 6 per cent in real terms since 2010 and last year I refocused the whole of the £630m ECO annual budget on tackling fuel poverty without the help of her party I might add who voted against the measures.

Money Laundering

Alison Thewliss: What steps he is taking to tackle money laundering.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Financial Action Task Force has just completed a landmark review of the UK’s regime for tackling money laundering, concluding that we have some of the strongest controls in the world. We are building on our strengths. In the last six months, the Department has published a draft bill to tackle money laundering in the property market; set out reforms to tackle misuse of limited partnerships; and committed to consulting on reforms to Companies House.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: Palestinians

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effects of Israel’s settlement expansion on the welfare Palestinian refugees in the West Bank.

Alistair Burt: ​I issued a statement on 27 December expressing our disappointment in the latest announcement by the Government of Israel to advance over 2,800 housing units in settlements in the West Bank. Such actions are illegal under international law and call into question Israel’s commitment to any future peace agreement with the Palestinians. We strongly urge Israel to cease such actions. We regularly raise our grave concerns on this issue with the Government of Israel and urge it to reverse its policy of settlement expansion.

Israel: Bedouin

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to raise concerns with the Israeli Government on the imminent demolition of Khan al-Ahmar.

Alistair Burt: We have raised concerns with the Israeli authorities at senior levels, including with the Israeli Prime Minister and Israeli Attorney General, urging them not to go ahead with their plan to demolish the village. Officials from our Consulate General in Jerusalem continue to visit Khan al-Ahmar, most recently on 18 December. The same day, our Permanent Representative to the UN made clear during a UN Security Council debate on the situation in the Middle East that "we welcome the temporary postponement of plans to demolish the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar but we remain gravely concerned about the fate of this community. The United Nations has said this demolition could amount to forcible transfer in violation of International Humanitarian Law. As I’ve said before in this Chamber, the Israel Government is not obligated to demolish Khan al-Ahmar. It has the power to change its mind and we urge it to do so”.

British Nationals Abroad: Detainees

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s policy is on (a) consular access and (b) private visits by embassy staff for British nationals detained abroad at risk of torture or ill-treatment.

Harriett Baldwin: When we are notified of a British national’s arrest or detention overseas, in any circumstance, we aim to contact them as soon as possible to assess how we can help. We then aim to provide assistance according to their individual circumstances and local conditions. This includes ensuring they have access to legal advice and medical assistance if needed. We take all allegations or concerns of torture and mistreatment very seriously and will follow up with action appropriate to the circumstances of the case. This can include increasing the frequency of our visits, considering support for a transfer if the detainee wishes to move to another wing or facility, and, with their permission, raising concerns with the local authorities.​

Gaza: Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2018 to Question 201109, whether he plans to make representations to his Israeli counterpart on allegations that Israeli security forces impersonated humanitarian workers while conducting a military operation inside the Gaza Strip in November 2018.

Alistair Burt: ​Whilst we do not have plans to raise these allegations, we routinely make clear to the Israeli authorities our concerns about their conduct of the occupation.

Syria: Kurds

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold a meeting with political representatives of the Kurdish population in Syria to discuss that community's concerns on (a) the withdrawal of US troops and (b) a potential new Turkish military offensive in Northern Syria.

Alistair Burt: ​Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials have contact with political representatives from several Kurdish groups. We are aware of concerns raised by some Kurdish political representatives around withdrawal of US troops from Syria and the potential for a Turkish military operation in northern Syria. I made clear our concerns about the impact of such an operation when I met with the Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister, Sedat Önal, on 13 December.

Cabinet Office

Pay: Greater Manchester

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of people in each parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester that are paid the (a) national minimum wage and (b) national living wage.

Chloe Smith: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 05 December 2018.The correct answer should have been:

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. Once I receive their response, I will place a copy in the Library.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 66.8 KB)

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. Once I receive their response, I will place a copy in the Library.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 66.8 KB)

Civil Servants: Reviews

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2018 to Question 193470 on Ministers: Resignations, which Department monitors the number of independent reviews commissioned by the civil service into the behaviour and actions of civil servants.

Mr David Lidington: Under the Civil Service Management Code, the conduct of civil servants is a matter for individual departments.

Cabinet Office: Staff

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.

Mr David Lidington: In June 2016, the number of staff employed in my Department was 2,384. In November 2018 the number of staff employed in my Department (latest workforce figures) was 6,214.Most of the increase here (82%) is the result of the transfer of staff and functions into the Cabinet Office from other Government Departments under machinery of government changes.As part of this Government’s commitment to transparency, my Department publishes workforce statistics each month. Information about staffing levels since June 2016 are available athttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/payroll-costs-and-non-consolidated-pay-data

Homicide: Reoffenders

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people convicted of murder have committed the same crime again following their release from prison.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 186.7 KB)

Antisocial Behaviour

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many instances of antisocial behaviour have been recorded in each of the last 10 years.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 186.7 KB)

Elections: Digital Technology

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the subject of imprints for digital electoral material was discussed in meetings the Minister for the Consitution had with Facebook and Google on electoral reform in September 2018.

Chloe Smith: On 29 July 2018, the Cabinet Office launched an open consultation entitled ‘Protecting the Debate: Intimidating, Influence and Information’, which seeks views on proposed changes to electoral law, including the inclusion of imprints on digital campaign materials. The consultation closed on 28 October 2018 and is available at GOV.UK. The Government is considering the contributions of all interested parties and will publish a response to the feedback received. Facebook and Google, along with other relevant organisations, were encouraged to submit responses.

Electoral Register: Pilot Schemes

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any of the Voter ID Pilot authorities present at the meeting with the Minister for the Constitution in August 2018 raised objection to the pilots.

Chloe Smith: The British public deserves to have confidence in our democracy. The success of the voter ID pilots in May 2018 proves that voter ID is a reasonable and proportionate measure and voters were fully aware of the changes on polling day. That view was shared by the voter ID pilot authorities who attended a meeting in July. All pilot local authorities are volunteers. No pilot authority has raised an objection and the Government continues to work closely and collaboratively with pilot authorities from 2018 and those who have volunteered to pilot voter ID at this year’s May elections.

Cabinet Office: Billing

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the change in the number of invoices his Department paid within 30 days in the 2017-18 financial year.

Oliver Dowden: The move to a new shared service platform in May 2017 presented a number of operational issues. These issues included the migration of data relating to purchase orders and invoicing, staff knowledge of the new system and technical issues with a new chart of accounts. We have been working hard to rectify the underlying issues and have implemented a number of improvements as part of a coordinated programme of work to ensure we pay our suppliers as soon as possible.

Government Departments: Billing

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2018 to Question 185519, whether the move to the new shared service platform resulted in any payment delays in the last 12 months.

Oliver Dowden: The move to a new shared service platform in May 2017 presented a number of operational issues. These issues included the migration of data relating to purchase orders and invoicing, staff knowledge of the new system and technical issues with a new chart of accounts.We have been working hard to rectify the underlying issues and have implemented a number of improvements as part of a coordinated programme of work to ensure we pay our suppliers as soon as possible.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Staff

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.

Nigel Adams: The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (OSSW) is not an employer in its own right and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provide employment services on our behalf. The number of Civil Servants working for OSSW on the requested dates is shown below: DateNumber of staffa) 20 December 201844b) 23 June 201642

Department for Education

Schools: Fires

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2018 to Question 183860 on High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention, and reports of high concentrations of toxins in the soil around Grenfell Tower, what assessment the Government has made about the safety of school sites where there have been fires.

Nick Gibb: The Government takes the safety of children and staff in schools very seriously. In the unfortunate event that a school has suffered damage as a result of a fire and requires rebuilding, soil contamination surveys would be expected to be undertaken as part of the feasibility study for the replacement buildings. Schools also have responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (2005) to have fire safety management plans in place. These should include risk assessments, which must be updated following any fire incident or any significant change to buildings or operations. More specifically, in relation to Grenfell, the Communities Secretary has set up a multi-agency expert group which includes the Environment Agency, Public Health England, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and NHS England to make sure soil surveying around Grenfell Tower is comprehensive. The analysis from this survey work will be made available to the public.

Languages: Curriculum

Mr William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has he made of the implications for the national curriculum of the findings of the British Council’s 2018 Language Trends Survey.

Nick Gibb: The Department has noted the British Council Language Trends 2018 Survey and the concerns it raises about participation in languages study. Through a number of initiatives, the Department is ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to study a language. English Baccalaureate (EBacc) performance measures have been introduced to halt the decline in the number of pupils taking GCSEs in languages and the reformed national curriculum makes it compulsory for pupils in maintained schools to be taught a foreign language in Key Stage 2. The Department offers financial incentives for languages teaching, including scholarships in modern foreign languages (MFL) worth £28,000, and tax-free bursaries, typically worth up to £26,000, for trainees MFL initial teacher training. Schools are being supported to increase languages take up through the Mandarin Excellence Programme and through a £4.8 million MFL pedagogy pilot programme which aims to improve uptake and attainment in languages at Key Stages 3 and 4, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. A pilot project for MFL undergraduate mentoring has been launched for secondary school pupils to increase take up in the subject, specifically targeting areas of high disadvantage to extend access to languages for all pupils. The Department has recently published a leaflet for parents, which explains why studying a language, as part of the EBacc, will provide their children with an insight into other cultures, opening the door to travel and employment opportunities. This publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-baccalaureate-ebacc. Since 2010, the proportion of pupils taking a language GCSE has increased from 40 per cent to 46 per cent.

Department for Education: Brexit

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to his Department for financial year 2018-19 for planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how much of that funding has been spent.

Anne Milton: Her Majesty’s Treasury has allocated over £2 billion of additional funding to departments and the Devolved Administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This includes;£412 million of additional funding over the spending review period for the Department for Exiting the European Union, Department for International Trade and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office at Autumn Statement 2016;£286 million of additional funding for 2017-18, a full breakdown of which can be found in Supplementary Estimates 2017-18 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/679738/PU2137_Supplementary_estimates_web.pdf, and;Over £1.5 billion of additional funding for 2018-19. A full breakdown of which can be found in my right hon. Friend, the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13 March 2018, available at: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/.A breakdown of the more recent allocations (for 2019-20) can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS1205, laid on the 18 December 2018 at: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-12-18/HCWS1205/.

Higher Education: Student Numbers

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2018 to Question 199283 on Disabled Students Allowances, how many full-time undergraduate students were domiciled in England  in each year since 2014-15.

Chris Skidmore: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publish statistics on the number of students enrolled at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students.In the academic year 2014/15, there was a total of 972,330 English domiciled students enrolled on full-time undergraduate courses at UK HEIs. This compares to 1,004,505 in the academic year 2015/16 and 1,032,950 in the academic year 2016/17.Equivalent data for the academic year 2017/18 will be published by HESA on 17 January 2019.

Disabled Students Allowances: Part-time Education

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2018 to Question 199283 on Disabled Students Allowances, if he will publish the information for part-time students.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 07 January 2019



Provisional data for 2017/18 provided by the Student Loans Company (SLC) shows that 1,600 part-time undergraduate English domiciled students have so far been paid Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) for equipment, a 23% increase on the number paid at the same point in the academic year 2016/17 (1,300).Data provided by the SLC shows that, in the academic year 2016/17, 1,500 part-time undergraduate English domiciled students were paid DSA for equipment. This compares to 1,700 in the academic years 2015/16 and 2014/15.For full-time students only, DSA provisional uptake and expenditure data for 2017/18 show an increase in the number of students benefitting from the equipment allowance to 21,800, compared to 18,700 at the same point in the previous year. The overall expenditure has also risen, to £21.5 million in 2017/18 compared to £14.4 million at the same point the previous year: an increase of almost 50%. This means that the average expenditure per student over those two years has risen to £986 in 2017/18 from £770 at the same point in 2016/17.

Disabled Students Allowances

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2018 to Question 199283 on Disabled Students Allowances, what the provisional figure is for 2016-2017.

Chris Skidmore: The Student Loans Company publish statistics on the number of English domiciled students paid Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA): https://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx.In the academic year 2016/17 the provisional (as at August 2017) figure for the number of English domiciled students paid full-time undergraduate equipment DSA was 18,700.

Disabled Students Allowances: Visual Impairment

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 199284 on Disabled Students' Allowances: Visual Impairment, what support is available to students who invoke an exceptional case process.

Chris Skidmore: The Exceptional Case Process (ECP) provides support to students eligible for the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs), who are in dispute with their higher education provider (HEP) over reasonable adjustments for areas of need identified in the students’ DSAs needs assessment report. The ECP can provide interim funding to pay for recommended support to enable the student to study whilst the dispute is being settled. It is not the purpose of ECP interim funding to replace reasonable adjustments that should be made by a HEP.

Disabled Students Allowances: Visual Impairment

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 199284 on Disabled Students' Allowances: Visual Impairment, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that students are aware of their right to invoke an exceptional case process.

Chris Skidmore: Students who are eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowances can apply for the Exceptional Case Process where they have entered into dispute with their Higher Education Provider (HEP). Students will be advised of this process by the HEP’s disability officer or welfare officer. Students will also be advised of the process should they contact the Student Loans Company.

Children: Social Services

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support local leaders to deliver the best outcomes for children through the delivery of high quality children’s services.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department is improving the quality of leadership through £2 million for the Local Government Association to provide support to lead members and chief executives, and are increasing our support of directors of children’s services. We have an ambitious programme to improve the social work workforce, which underpins transformative children’s services. We are also improving the quality of social work initial education through £24 million supporting Teaching Partnerships, and our fast-track entry programmes, Step Up to Social Work and Frontline, which have seen over 1,450 social workers trained. We are investing in professional development with £5 million annually for high quality programmes for those starting as social work practitioners, and over £4 million in total on supervisors and practice leaders.Alongside this, we are creating effective system infrastructure to ensure high quality professional practice and standards become the norm, through the introduction of Social Work England and the National Assessment and Accreditation System. We are supporting innovation and regionally targeted improvement support (through the innovation programme and Partners in Practice), and building understanding of the evidence on what drives system improvement through the What Works Centre in social care.

Social Services: Children

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the sustainability of local authority children’s services budgets.

Nadhim Zahawi: Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement. The department is in the final year of a multi-year settlement deal worth over £200 billion in the five years to 2020.At the Autumn Budget 2018, the government made £410 million available to local authorities, in 2019/20, for adult and children social care. The government also announced £84 million in targeted, evidence-based interventions which will transform services to reduce demand, saving money for local authorities but most importantly, improving the quality of services for our most vulnerable children.The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming 2019 Spending Review.

Foster Care

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the 2016 strategy entitled Keep on caring: supporting young people from care to independence, when the Government plans to review the implementation of the Staying Put duty.

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the November 2018 Fostering Network report entitled Staying Put: An Unfulfilled Promise, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national minimum Staying Put allowance.

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding is planned to be allocated to each placement of Staying Put.

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report entitled, Staying Put: An Unfulfilled Promise, published in November 2018 by the Fostering Nework, what steps his Department is taking to prevent foster carers losing their approval as a foster carer through Staying Put arrangements.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government keeps the Staying Put policy under constant review, including through monitoring data from local authorities on take-up by young people, engagement with the sector, and reviewing information from Ofsted inspections of local authorities. Staying Put was also considered as part of the independent fostering review undertaken by Sir Martin Narey and Mark Owers, published in February 2018. Staying Put has helped thousands of care leavers to transition more smoothly from care to independence, and provides continuity of relationships and care arrangements. The latest data shows that increasing numbers of care leavers are living in Staying Put arrangements. In the year ending March 2018, 55% of 18 year olds chose to Stay Put, which is an increase of 4% compared to 2017.The government does not believe that introducing a national minimum allowance for Staying Put carers is the right way forward. Unlike children in foster care, young people in Staying Put arrangements are adults and may be in work, or claiming benefits. These financial sources can be used to contribute to the cost of providing the Staying Put arrangement, in a similar way that young people who are still living at home with their parents may contribute to the cost of running the household.The amount of funding the government has provided to local authorities in 2018/19 to implement Staying Put is £23.30 million, with a further £23.77 million committed for 2019/20. Decisions on funding beyond March 2020 will be subject to the outcome of the next Spending Review.The level of financial support local authorities provide for each Staying Put arrangement depends on individual needs and circumstances, with the amount that the carer receives negotiated on a case-by-case basis. Statutory guidance makes clear that local authorities must give careful consideration to the impact of the Staying Put arrangement on the family’s financial position. Local authorities must consider all the factors relating to each local Staying Put arrangement, with the current arrangements allowing local authorities to cover all reasonable costs that may support the care leaver to remain living with their former foster carer.The government does not believe that a foster carer’s approval should automatically lapse after 12 months if they are a Staying Put carer and will communicate this message to the sector.

Social Services: Children

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of level of funding from the public purse required by Birmingham City Council to deliver children’s services in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20, and (c) 2020-21.

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the likely demand for children’s services in Birmingham in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20, and (c) 2020/21.

Nadhim Zahawi: Information on every local authority’s demand and spend in children’s services are published in the department’s statistical first releases and brought together in our local authority interactive tool: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.Birmingham’s core spending power for 2018 to 2019 is £888.3 million and is rising to £888.6 million in 2019 to 2020.My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer have agreed that all long-term spending decisions are for the Spending Review, which will take place later this year.The department is working alongside the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the sector as part of the fair funding review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services, which will determine new baseline funding allocations for local authorities in England in 2020 to 2021.

Teachers: Pay

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how his Department is ensuring that funds allocated under the Teachers' Pay Grant for 2018-19 are being used to fund teachers' pay and not for any other purpose.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to reports that some academies have chosen not to pay the 2018-19 teacher pay award despite receiving the Teacher's Pay Grant for that year, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that academies in receipt of the pay grant deliver the pay award to their teachers.

Nick Gibb: Schools are autonomous institutions and therefore it is for schools to determine by how much an individual teacher’s pay should rise if they are considered eligible for progression. With the above in mind, it is for schools to decide how best to spend the funds allocated under the teachers’ pay grant. The Department has, however, made clear that this additional money is to fully fund an increase in pay for teachers and the Department would therefore expect schools to put it towards pay.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Brexit

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to his Department for financial year 2018-19 for planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how much of that funding has been spent.

Rory Stewart: The Department was allocated £17.3m of funding from HMT specifically for EU-related activities, regardless of whether the UK leaves the EU with a deal or no deal.As at November, the Department has spent £5.288m attributed to EU-related activities and has a clear plan and forecast to ensure the remaining funding is spent effectively to ensure the Department is ready for EU Exit. Such plans include ensuring the court system is prepared to cope with additional volumes and complexity of cases and for staff and judicial training.

Prisons: Private Sector

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 200144 on Prisons: Private Sector, what estimate he has made of maintenance costs for each prison establishment in each of the next five years.

Rory Stewart: We spend in the region of £250m a year on routine and capital maintenance for prisons. Around half of this is for facilities management services via our FM providers. Budgets for next financial year have not yet been agreed, while funding for subsequent years will be settled through the forthcoming Spending Review. I am therefore not able to provide specific costs per prison over the next five years.

Prisons: Private Sector

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 200144 on Prisons: Private Sector, how much of the £16 million investment in improving the fabric of prisons has been (a) allocated and (b) spent by each establishment.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2018 to Question 200144 on Prisons: Private Sector, how much of the £30 million investment to enhance safety, security and decency across the prison estate has been (a) allocated and (b) spent by each establishment.

Rory Stewart: The £30m investment package to tackle organised crime and bring buildings back up to a decent standard, was announced by Justice Secretary David Gauke (10 July). The investment package includes the £16m allocated to improve, where possible, the fabric of the prison estate. The full £30m breakdown is as follows: -£16m to help improve the basic conditions of the prison estate. The funding will target establishments with the most pressing maintenance issues. Funding is primarily for capital maintenance schemes - cells, flooring, showers, serveries, gates, and Fire Safety Works. -£7m investment in safety, to fund a range of new security measures, including airport-security style body scanners, improved searching techniques and mobile phone-blocking technology, and evolving our digital categorisation tool – which assesses information from various law enforcement databases to create a central ‘risk rating’ for each prisoner. -£7m on in-cell telephones and kiosks for more prisons. Currently most prisoners queue for public phones on the landings, which can be the trigger for violence or fuel demand for illicit mobile phones. The funding has been allocated in full to each programme strand, and is controlled at programme level, not by establishment. Current spending forecasts are on track against budget. Due to the confidential nature of our mobile phone blocking proof of concept pilot, no site details can be provided.

Department for International Trade

EU External Trade: Trade Agreements

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2019 to Question 200631 on EU External Trade: Trade Agreements, how many and what proportion of third countries have confirmed that they will treat the UK as an EU Member State for the purposes of international agreements during the implementation period.

George Hollingbery: I refer the hon. Member for Streatham to the answer the Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion Baroness Fairhead gave to the noble Lord Teverson on 19 December 2018 (UIN: HL12205).

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Homelessness

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what powers his Department has devolved to the Mayor of London to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Greater London Authority (GLA) Act sets out the Mayor of London’s powers in relation to housing and planning which can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/24/contents (section 6 and 7).The Act determines that the Mayor must prepare and publish a London Housing Strategy, which outlines plans for tackling rough sleeping and homelessness in the capital. This can be found here: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2018_lhs_london_housing_strategy.pdfWe are currently funding the GLA to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the capital in a number of ways including:£3.3 million as part of the Rough Sleeping Initiative funding with an additional £3 million provisionally allocated for 2019-20.£3.3 million of Rough Sleeping Grant funding including a mental health initiative, the Safe Connections project and the London Cross-Borough Accommodation Network.£50 million of funding to provide accommodation for homeless individuals and families as an alternative to hostel accommodation through the Move on Fund.In addition to this, at Spring Statement 2018, the Chancellor announced that we will be providing London with an additional £1.67 billion from the Affordable Homes Programme to support the Mayor to build a further 26,000 affordable homes – two-thirds will be homes for rent.This has increased our investment in London to over £4.8 billion for at least 116,000 affordable homes by March 2022.The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough and that is why this summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Staff

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.

Jake Berry: The Department’s workforce statistics are published on a quarterly basis by the Office for National Statistics as part of its Quarterly Public Sector Employment estimates. Data for the two quarters in question, June 2016 and September 2018 (latest available quarterly release) can be viewed and obtained via the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable (table 9) in the attached xlsx files for the dates in question.At the end of June 2016 the Department employed a reported 1,420 full-time equivalent staff in comparison with 1,890 full-time equivalent staff at the end of September 2018. Please note that these figures are rounded to the nearest ten at the point of release and do not include the Department’s Executive Agencies or non-departmental public bodies (NDPB). The difference between the two reported numbers represents a 33 per cent increase in staffing levels during the period in question. It is important to note that in March 2010 there were 2109 full-time equivalent staff working in the Department.Please note that the numbers reported to ONS are based on directly employed officials where the Department bears at least 50 per cent of salary costs through its payroll. Staff employed directly by the Department who are on an unpaid leave of absence, or paid on a reimbursed basis, are not included in management information published on GOV.UK and supplied to ONS.

British Counties Campaign

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from the British Counties Campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: During the course of this Parliamentary session we have received four representations about the British Counties Campaign’s proposal for legislation to promote and give special status to the historic counties.Whilst traditional counties are rightly no longer part of today’s administrative arrangements, which need to reflect where people live and work today, they are an important element of our heritage which supports the identity and cultures of so many of our local communities.That is why I recently asked my officials to draft new guidance for English local authorities on promoting their traditional county links.

Homelessness: Ilford

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will increase support to Redbridge Council to combat homelessness and rough sleeping in Ilford.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Redbridge has been allocated £5,280,506 for 2018-19 as part of the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant. The Rough Sleeping Initiative have also allocated Redbridge £485,250 for 2018-19 with a further £500,000 provisionally allocated for 2019-20 to tackle rough sleeping specifically. In addition, both the Move On Fund and Cold Weather Fund are open to local authorities for proposals to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough and that is why, this summer, we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timetable is for the publication of the independent review of disabled facilities grants.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The independent review of the Disabled Facilities Grant was published on 10 December 2018 and can be found at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/disabled-facilities-grant-and-other-adaptations-external-review.I welcome the review and the Government will be responding to its findings in due course.

Ministry of Defence

War Pensions: Disclosure of Information

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, under what circumstances his Department reveals to a third party that an individual is receiving a war disablement pension.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Department only releases information to a third party in line with Data Protection Legislation.In regard to War Disablement Pensions, disclosure to other Government Departments, local authorities and other public bodies can be made under Schedule 2, Paragraph 5 of the Data Protection Act 2018. As War Disablement Pensions can affect other Social Security Benefits, the legislation allowing the sharing of personal information for state benefit and war pension purposes is Section 3 of the Social Security Act 1998. This legislation can be found on the Gov.UK website at the following link - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/14Additionally, information is shared with third parties at the request of the claimant themselves, either in the form of authority for representation, or written authority.

International Military Services: Disclosure of Information

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will instruct the directors of International Military Services Ltd to declassify their records using the same protocols that apply to his Department's own records.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish any (a) records and (b) documents relating to International Military Services Ltd that are currently kept in the care of (i) his Department and (ii) its associated agencies.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place a file list of (a) records and (b) documents his Department holds on International Military Services Ltd in the Library.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department holds (a) records and (b) documents relating to International Military Services Ltd operations in Zimbabwe in 1983.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department has published all (a) records and (b) documents relating to the activities of International Military Services Ltd; and whether such documents have been made available to the public.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish all the information his Department holds on whether International Military Services Ltd was included in the National Audit Office’s value for money work on defence sales in the 1980s and early 1990s and in any associated work that may have been unpublished.

Stuart Andrew: Due to ongoing legal proceedings between International Military Services Ltd and the Iranian Ministry of Defence and Support for the Armed Forces of Iran (known as MODSAF), it would not be appropriate for the Ministry of Defence to comment.

Type 31 Frigates: Costs

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much allowance he has made for taxes and national insurance in his Department's calculations of the cost of a Type 31e frigate with a set price of £250m.

Stuart Andrew: The National Shipbuilding Strategy makes clear that we judge that the capabilities the Royal Navy requires can be accommodated within the £250 million price, and our market research indicates that beyond this price the vessels would not be attractive to the sector of the export market we are targeting. We have conducted and shared this market analysis with industry. It is now for industry to develop proposals to deliver Type 31e at the price we have set, taking into account their costs, including normal business costs such as taxes and national insurance payments.

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobcentre Plus: Training

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Autism and Hidden Impairment training for Jobcentre Plus staff in reducing the gap between national employment rates and rates of employment for people on the autistic spectrum.

Sarah Newton: There are currently no robust statistics on employment rates among autistic people, so we have not been able to make any assessment of the effectiveness of the Autism and Hidden Impairment training for Jobcentre Plus staff on employment levels among autistic people. We are considering how to robustly measure the employment rate among autistic people, including whether it might be possible to collect this information through the Labour Force Survey.

Industrial Health and Safety: Funerals

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the implementation of EU Directive 2004/37/EC on the funeral sector.

Sarah Newton: The Government is aware of the concerns that the funeral sector has raised about a new occupational exposure limit value for Formaldehyde in the latest proposed amendment to EU Directive 2004/37/EC. Officials have liaised with representatives of the sector to gather information to inform the continuing negotiations at EU level. The UK will continue to represent the concerns of the funeral sector as part of those negotiations.

Industrial Injuries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support the reporting of workplace injuries.

Sarah Newton: The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provides the national reporting framework necessary for the effective regulation of health and safety at work in Great Britain. The Regulations require employers and other people in control of work premises to report and keep records of: work-related accidents which cause death;work- related accidents which cause certain serious injuries (reportable injuries);diagnosed cases of certain occupational diseases;certain “dangerous occurrences” (incidents with the potential to cause harm). The Regulations are made under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and reports are required to be made to the relevant enforcing authority. Earlier this year, the Regulations were subject to a post-implementation review and the report, published in October 2018, found that the Regulations remain “fit for purpose”.

Children: Maintenance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes are in place to ensure that an individual who is serving in the armed forces is aware that the Child Maintenance Service is investigating a case relating to them; and if she will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: After an initial application is received Child maintenance Group (CMG) will attempt to locate the non-resident parent (NRP). If they are in the Armed Forces a phone call will be made and a letter will be sent to where they are based informing them that they have been named in a case and asking them to contact CMG. Only if CMG receives no cooperation or contact from the NRP will a Deduction from Earnings Request (DER) be considered. If CMG know that the NRP is in the Armed Forces, CMG will contact the Armed Forces Liaison Officer to check whether the non-resident parent is on active service. If the NRP is on active service and NOT in a warzone a DER will be issued. If the NRP is in a warzone, collection action is suspended, DER action halted and the case is reviewed every 3 months. All DER requests are sent to a central MoD address.

Children: Maintenance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases from the (a) 1993 and (b) 2003 Child Support Agency schemes remain open.

Justin Tomlinson: The latest statistics on the caseload of the Child Support Agency split by scheme are published in Table 1 of the Child Support Agency quarterly summary of statistics: September 2018 statistics available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-september-2018.

Children: Maintenance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the March 2017 report of the NAO entitled Child maintenance: closing cases and managing arrears on the 1993 and 2003 schemes, HC 1054, for what reason fewer than expected parents who were asked by her Department to join the new scheme have been joining that scheme when their 1993 and 2003 scheme cases are closed.

Justin Tomlinson: The findings of the NAO’s report was based on information gathered in 2016, a little over half way through the case closure programme. The Department’s estimate refers to the number of arrangements once the case closure process is complete. The NAO’s report also does not take into account the order in which cases were closed. To minimise disruption to Child Support Agency arrangements, those where no money was being paid were closed first and the Case Closure Outcomes survey published in December 2016 found that, clients who did not have maintenance payments flowing under the CSA, were less likely to set up a new arrangement with the CMS than parents whose CSA case had maintenance flowing.

Children: Maintenance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the March 2017 report of the NAO entitled Child maintenance: closing cases and managing arrears on the 1993 and 2003 schemes, HC 1054, what assessment is made of the implications for the level of Child Maintenance Service payments of the (a) war pension and (b) other legacy benefits that a person claims.

Justin Tomlinson: In the referenced report the NAO presented findings regarding the progress of the Child Support Agency case closure programme and the manner in which arrears accrued under the Child Support Agency were being managed at that time. No assessment of the type described has been carried out as it relates solely to the Child Maintenance Service, and not to the Child Support Agency which was the focus of the NAO report

Children: Maintenance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what record is made of (a) whom and (b) which Department has supplied information during the assessment of (i) Child Support Agency and (ii) Child Maintenance Service payments.

Justin Tomlinson: The initial Child maintenance calculation is based on gross annual income from HMRC, benefit information from CIS, the number of qualifying children, number of relevant other child/ren (ROCs), number of children in family based arrangements (CIFBA), variation information and shared care from the applicant. This can be supplemented by addition information from the applicant and from local authorities. This information is routinely recorded in the Child Maintenance systems, but could only be sourced by examining individual cases

Children: Maintenance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long records of conversations relating to the (a) Child Support Agency and (b) Child Maintenance Service by phone or email with employers are kept.

Justin Tomlinson: The Child Maintenance Service is compliant with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Records of telephone conversations are deleted 14 months after the date of the telephone conversation. Email records are retained for the life of a case, and for 14 months after a case has been closed. Records are automatically deleted after this point. The Child Support Agency is also compliant with GDPR in respect of telephone conversations and the same approach is taken to these as with the Child Maintenance Service, with automatic deletion of records 14 months after the date of the telephone conversation. Email records are not automatically deleted, and therefore manual action is taken to periodically remove these once they are no longer required for case-related activity.

Children: Maintenance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many appeals to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman relating to the (a) Child Support Agency and (b) Child Maintenance Service have been upheld in each of the last 10 years.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has found against the Child Support Agency for maladministration; and how much compensation was paid in each of the last six years.

Justin Tomlinson: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is independent of Government and has agreed to write to the Hon. Member with the relevant information.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with the Scottish Government on enabling registered medical practitioners to make clinical judgments about whether illnesses are terminal.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she will ask the Scottish Government for advanced sight of the guidance being developed to enable registered medical practitioners to make a clinical judgement on whether an illness is regarded as terminal.

Sarah Newton: It is for the Scottish Government to decide their policies on the devolved matters under the Scotland Act 2016, my Department is working closely with them. The Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare is the forum in which exchanges take place at Ministerial level and officials from the two governments work closely together, including on matters which have an effect on reserved benefits. This includes assessments relevant to disability and carer benefits.

Children: Maintenance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to respond to the National Audit Office report entitled Child maintenance: closing cases and managing arrears on the 1993 and 2003 schemes published 28 March 2017; and if she will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: We gave consideration to key findings of the National Audit Office report – Child maintenance closing cases and managing arrears on the 1993 and 2003 schemes when developing our Child Maintenance Compliance and Arrears strategy – which was published on 12 July 2018. The NAO report helped inform our approach for how we should address historic arrears that accrued under the Child Support Agency Scheme. There are no other plans to respond directly to this report.

Children: Maintenance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders were granted to the Child Support Agency in each of the last 10 years.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders granted in magistrates' courts to the Child Support Agency were for an amount over £5,000.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department recorded and published data on the number of liability orders granted to the Child Support Agency up until November 2016. Statistics on liability orders granted to the Child Support Agency until this point are published in Table 22 of the Child Support Agency quarterly summary of statistics: December 2016, available online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-december-2016It is not possible to provide information after November 2016 as this data is no longer recorded.The Department does not record information on the value of liability orders granted in magistrates’ courts to the Child Support Agency. Therefore it is not possible to provide this information.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the procedure in the Child Support Agency is to report alleged benefit fraud to her Department.

Justin Tomlinson: The CMG instructions to caseworkers are whenever a Child Maintenance Group (CMG) employee suspects a paying parent, receiving parent, third party or employer of criminal activity they may send a referral to the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) or enforcement. Suspected benefit fraud would be reported to FIU who will then contact DWP via fraud referral.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of alleged benefit fraud were reported to her Department in each of the last 10 years.

Justin Tomlinson: The Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate (CFCD), part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is responsible for the prevention, detection and, where appropriate, investigation of fraud and error relating to all benefits administered by and on behalf of DWP. All reported allegations of benefit fraud are recorded and appropriate action taken. The table below shows the number of benefit fraud allegation referrals received each year since 2008. It should be noted that within these totals there could be multiple referrals relating to the same allegation against an individual. YearTotal Referrals From All Sources2008-09891,0002009-10937,0002010-11938,0002011-12954,0002012-13850,0002013-14915,0002014-15740,0002015-16766,0002016-17765,0002017-18839,0002018-19(YTD to 19.12.18)519,000

Child Support Agency: Staff

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are employed by the Child Support Agency.

Justin Tomlinson: There are 697 people, full time equivalent, working in the Child Support Agency at present.

Child Support Agency: Disclosure of Information

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements the Child Support Agency has entered into in each of the last 10 years.

Justin Tomlinson: CSA/ CMG comply with the government’s policy on using confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements and it would seek approval from a minister and the Government Legal Service before doing so. We have no records of entering into any non-disclousre agreements in the last 10 years.

Carer's Allowance: Overpayments

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the rate of penalties charged in cases of over payment of Carers Allowance were in each of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: Holding answer received on 07 January 2019



DWP can impose a £50 Civil Penalty for claimant error where enquiries show that a claimant has failed to provide accurate information as part of their benefit claim or in connection with an award of benefit, they have not taken reasonable steps to correct the error and their action has resulted in an overpayment of over £65. An Administrative Penalty may be offered to claimants as an alternative to a prosecution where an overpayment of benefit has occurred due to an act or omission by that person and there are grounds for instituting proceedings for an offence against the person relating to the overpayment. The minimum amount of the Administrative Penalty is £350 or 50% of the recoverable overpayment, whichever is greater, up to a maximum of £5,000. A debtor would not be expected to repay any recoverable benefit overpayment or DWP financial penalty all at once, as repayments can be made over time.It is not possible to provide specific Administrative Penalty rates as applied to Carer’s Allowance overpayment cases as this information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Work and Pensions: Debts

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to include debts owed to her Department in its new breathing space scheme.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department for Work and Pensions is supportive of the Breathing Space policy. Departmental officials are working with HM Treasury to understand how the policy could apply to benefit related debts and we will provide a response to the public consultation in line with the end of January deadline.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Livestock: Transport

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the transportation of livestock from the UK to the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

David Rutley: To export into the EU, the UK will need to be listed as a third country by the EU. We have applied for that status and are now awaiting a response from the European Commission. If we leave the EU without a deal and are listed as a third country, export health certificates, signed by an official vet or other authorised signatory, will be required for all live animals to pass into the EU and they will need to travel through a border inspection post in the EU. Last year we also issued a call for evidence on a potential ban on the export of live animals for slaughter and on improving the welfare of livestock during transportation. The Farm Animal Welfare Committee is considering the evidence received and will report in due course.

Fisheries

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on confidentiality agreements signed by the owners of vessels used by CEFAS in studying the effect of electric fishing in UK waters.

George Eustice: Cefas confirm they do not have confidentiality agreements with the owners of the vessels concerned, nor do they feature in the standard tendering arrangements.

Water Voles: Conservation

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his department has made of the reasons for the decline in the number of water voles in England; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In June 2018 Natural England published ‘A Review of the Population and Conservation Status of British Mammals’, which assessed the reasons for population decline in water voles, and identified and confirmed areas of work where resources should continue to be targeted to conserve and enhance water vole populations.The review identified that a combination of intensification of agriculture, wetland drainage, the encroachment of cultivated land into riparian and wetland habitats, overgrazing, degradation of banks and predation by the American mink have had significant impacts on water vole populations.The Government is committed to providing opportunities for species recovery as part of the 25 Year Environment Plan. Since 2010 the Environment Agency has delivered 328 projects that included habitat creation or improvement for the benefit of water voles, restoring 6,725 hectares and creating 6,330 hectares of priority habitat in rivers, lakes and coastal waters.In addition, the Forestry Commission is currently undertaking a flagship project with a number of Trusts to restore water vole populations and habitats in the North Tyne catchment, and has already released hundreds of water voles in the area.

Department for International Development

Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what commitments the UK is legally bound by as a result of signing up to the UN Global compact on migration.

Alistair Burt: The UN Global Compact on Migration is not legally binding. It sets out a series of guidelines for improved international action and co-operation on migration, whilst importantly respecting a State’s sovereign right to determine its own migration policy. The UK is not legally bound by any new commitments as a result of endorsing the Compact.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the conflict in Yemen on that country's economy; and what steps her Department is taking to support economic recovery in that country.

Alistair Burt: As Mark Lowcock, the UN Under Secretary General, explained to the UN Security Council on 23 October, Yemen’s recent economic crisis threatens to tip the country into famine, with the Yemeni Riyal losing over 40% of its value from June to October 2018.   The UK led discussions with the US, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates so the Central Bank of Yemen could release $270 million, provided by Saudi Arabia, in letters of credit to support commercial food importers with foreign currency to purchase wheat and other staples for import. These measures have resulted in an appreciation of the Riyal, and prices of staples are starting to decline which means that ordinary Yemenis are more able to buy food that is in the markets.   However, much more remains to be done. We welcome the positive outcomes of consultations in Stockholm and continue to encourage further constructive and urgent engagement on the economy. A political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and to address the worsening humanitarian crisis.

Yemen: Overseas Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen local service delivery in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The UK is working closely with partners in Yemen to support the delivery of local services on which Yemenis rely. This includes the Yemeni Social Fund for Development, a national development institution established in 1997 to improve basic services, enhance economic opportunities, and reduce the vulnerability of the poor. Between 2010 and 2018, DFID contributed £108 million to the Yemen Social Fund for Development to provide hundreds of thousands of Yemenis with work opportunities restoring roads, health clinics, and agricultural land, as well as providing training, infrastructure improvements, and clean water to thousands more. We will be funding the Yemen Social Fund for Development again this year.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Immigration: EU Nationals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice over the rights of EU citizens will end.

Mr Robin Walker: At the end of the implementation period, the jurisdiction of the CJEU will end. The Withdrawal Agreement ensures that the UK’s membership of the EU, and the CJEU’s jurisdiction in the UK, is wound down in a sensible and orderly way. In keeping with this, and in the interests of ensuring citizens’ rights are interpreted consistently, the UK has agreed that a very narrow group of issues will be able to be referred to the CJEU for an interpretation, having due regard to whether relevant case law already exists.For questions that relate to the settled status of EU citizens, UK courts will be able to refer questions of interpretation to the CJEU eight years from exit day, because settled status applications will be made from exit day. They will be able to refer questions that relate to other aspects of the citizens’ rights part of the agreement for eight years from the end of the implementation period, as those other aspects will only apply from the end of the implementation period.In practical terms, this is a very limited role: our courts currently only refer two or three of this kind of case to the CJEU every year.

Anguilla: Brexit

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the Overseas Territory of Anguilla of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK Government is working closely with the Government of Anguilla to enable them to understand the implications of the UK leaving the EU. Ministers and officials regularly engage with representatives from Anguilla and the other Overseas Territories through the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council which last met on 4 and 5 December 2018. This mechanism for dialogue ensures that assessments about the potential effects of EU Exit on their territories can be shared.The Government is committed to working with Anguilla through the negotiation process with the EU, and getting a deal that works for the whole British family, which includes Anguilla.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many staff were employed in her Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.

Karen Bradley: On 20 December 2018, there were 165 staff working in my Department. In July 2016, (the nearest date we have for June staff numbers), there were 115 staff working in my department.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Political Parties: Disclosure of Information

Luke Hall: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the appropriateness of the Commission's use of civil sanctions for the late submission of political parties' quarterly reports.

Bridget Phillipson: The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 requires registered political parties to report cash and non-cash donations and borrowing to the Electoral Commission on a quarterly basis. Parliament made it an offence to deliver, without reasonable excuse, donation reports that are inaccurate or miss the statutory deadline. Parliament also gave the Commission investigation and sanction powers for these, and other, offences. The Commission investigates and where appropriate sanctions inaccurate or late donation reports in line with its Enforcement Policy.